Ms. Qiang Weixiu used to suffer from many illnesses, including deteriorating cranial nerves in the brain, anaemia, frequent colds and chronic stomach pain. She tried many treatments, but nothing seemed to work.

An acquaintance gave Ms. Qiang the Falun Gong book, Zhuan Falun, in the summer of 1997, and told her that it was really good. She eagerly read it, and later went to the group practice site to learn the Falun Gong exercises. After studying the Falun Gong teachings and doing the exercises, her illnesses soon disappeared.

Held in Zhenyuan County Detention Centre

After the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20th, 1999, the head of the Domestic Security Division in Zhenyuan County, Lu Zhengpin, led other officers to break into Ms. Qiang's home. When they attempted to take away her copy of Zhuan Falun, Ms. Qiang said, “You cannot have my book.” However, the officers forcibly took her and the book to the Zhenyuan Police Station. Ms. Duan Xiaoyan, Ms. Jiao Liping and other practitioners were also arrested. Ms. Qiang was locked in an office, where some officers tried to force her to write a guarantee statement to promise to give up her belief. She firmly refused, and was kept there until midnight. Officers frequently went to her home to harass her and try to force her to write a guarantee statement.

Ms. Qiang and Ms. Duan went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong at the end of 1999. They were arrested at Tiananmen Square by plainclothes police officers and were held at the Qianmen Detention Centre. They were later taken to the Qingyang City Office in Beijing, and then taken back to the local police station in Zhenyuan by Lu Zhengpin. Ms. Qiang and Ms. Duan were held at the Zhenyuan Detention Centre for a month, before being taken back to their homes, while the police searched them. They were then returned to the detention centre for another month. They were forced to recite the detention centre rules and regulations, and had a week to learn them. The guards also tried to force Ms. Qiang to do the morning group running, but she refused. When she was seen doing the Falun Gong meditation exercise, she was put in shackles. However, she still insisted on doing the exercises, so the guards kept kicking her. She was then handcuffed until the day she was released. Officials at the detention centre extorted 1,000 yuan1 from her before releasing her, stating that it was for travel expenses to collect her from Beijing. The head of the detention centre at that time was Qin Dexi, and the deputy head was Liu Junhui. Other officials who participated in the persecution included Li Guomin, Hu Guoyong and He Jinhua.

Zhang Jiatao from Chengguan Police Station in Zhenyuan went to Ms. Qiang's workplace or her home every day to monitor her and prevent her from going to Beijing again to appeal. High ranking officials then had Ms. Qiang arrested. Ms. Qiang and Ms. Duan were arrested and taken to the Zhenyuan Detention Centre again. They immediately went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. When a doctor from the hospital was called three days later, guards and a few of the inmates held them down to force-feed them. The guards then handcuffed their hands behind their backs. After they finished with the force-feeding, they taped the inserted tube to their faces so that they could easily use them the next time. They did not remove their handcuffs, and Ms. Qiang and Ms. Duan could not sleep at night due to extreme discomfort and had to ask inmates to help them to use the toilet. They were in critical condition and the guards were afraid of being held responsible if they died in their custody, so they were released a week later.

Ms. Qiang and Ms. Duan went to Beijing to appeal for a second time in the Spring of 2000. They were stopped by police from Zhenyuan and were taken straight to the Zhenyuan Detention Centre. They were handcuffed and shackled because they insisted on practising the exercises, and were left like this for many days. The guards also kicked and beat them. Ms. Qiang was released a month later, but Ms. Duan remained in the detention centre until officials from the Zhenyuan Domestic Security Division had her transferred to the Ping'antai Forced Labour Camp.

In the Autumn of 2000, Ms. Qiang went to Beijing to appeal for a third time, and returned home safely. When she was seen practising the exercises outside her home, she was arrested and taken to the Chengguan Police Station. After being interrogated, she was transferred to the Zhenyuan Detention Centre. However, she insisted on practising the exercises, and so the guards had her handcuffed and put in shackles. She was also kicked and beaten by the guards.

Ms. Qiang’s physical and mental condition had drastically deteriorated by October 2000. Her husband, who worked at the Zhenyuan Procuratorate, could no longer take the pressure that the authorities had put on his family and work. He went to the detention centre with the court officials and forced Ms. Qiang to sign divorce papers.

During the times when Ms. Qiang was arrested, officers from the Chengguan Police Station and the Zhenyuan Domestic Security Division broke into her home and ransacked it.

Officers from the Zhenyuan Domestic Security Division and Chengguan Police Station interrogated Ms. Qiang in November 2000, and fabricated evidence to sentence her to a forced labour camp. They also tried to force her to sign a guarantee statement, but she refused. The head of the police station, with the last name of Chen, and police officer Zhang Wutang had her sentenced to a term of one year. They also extorted 800 yuan from her employer, which was then deducted from Ms. Qiang's wages.

Persecuted in the First Forced Labour Camp in Ping'antai, Lanzhou City

Ms. Qiang was taken to the 1st Team of the 7th Division in the First Forced Labour Camp in Ping'antai on November 7th, 2000. She refused to follow the prison rules and was forced to stand until midnight every day. She also refused to attend the training sessions and did the Falun Gong exercises instead. The guards then locked her in solitary confinement for half a month, where she was shackled and forced to stand for long periods of time. When she was released from solitary confinement, her feet were so swollen that it was very painful to make even the slightest movement. She could not sleep for a week because of the excruciating pain. The political instructor for the 1st Team was Gu Yanling. Ms. Qiang was later transferred to the 2nd Team, where Hu Ruimei was the instructor. She went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was brutally force-fed. Ten days later, she was taken to the hospital, where she was tied to a bed and force-fed again.

For a period of time, practitioners in the labour camp openly did the exercises and shouted “Falun Gong is good” to protest the persecution. As a result, a dozen practitioners were taken to the hospital in the labour camp. Their hands were cuffed behind their backs, and a rope was put through the handcuffs and attached to iron bars. They were then hung up with only the ends of their toes being able to touch the ground. Political instructor of the 3rd Team, Li Xiaojing, then tortured Ms. Qiang. She was taken outside by two inmates one night and brutally beaten until she almost lost consciousness. Officials at the camp also extended her term for three months.

Ms. Qiang wrote a letter to the head of the 7th Division, Dai Wenqing, to expose the brutal torture of practitioners at the camp. Hu Ruimei had her taken outside and hung up, and the division instructor, Jing Xuefeng, verbally abused her while she was hung up. She was tortured like this for a week. For the first three days, Ms. Qiang was hung up for long periods of time, and was only let down for a short while every few hours. Her wrists were badly injured.

Practitioners were forced to do farm work at the labour camp, such as weeding, ploughing and picking corn. Their living conditions were very bad. The meals were small and of poor quality. They had to wash their clothes outside in the winter, and the washing basin was soon full of ice and frozen to the ground. They also had to wash their hair with cold water.

Ms. Qiang's employer stopped paying her wages while she was detained at the labour camp, and reduced her salary by three grades when she returned to work after being released. Zhang Jiatao and others from the Chengguan Police Station constantly went to her workplace or home to harass her.

Persecuted in Zhenyuan County again

In the Spring of 2002, Ms. Qiang was forced to become homeless to avoid further persecution. Officers from the Zhenyuan Domestic Security Division and the Chengguan Police Station collaborated with the Lanzhou Domestic Security Division to have her secretly followed. She was arrested in September 2002 by Wei Dong and others, and taken to the Lanzhou Domestic Security Division. They confiscated 1,700 yuan and interrogated her. They put a helmet on her head and had her handcuffed and shackled. After torturing her for the whole night, Lu Zhengpin and the head of Chengguan Police Station, Gou Huifeng, had Ms. Qiang transferred to the Zhenyuan Detention Centre, where she was held for two months.

Ms. Qiang was constantly interrogated and then sentenced to two years and nine months of forced labour. Lu Zhengpin extorted 1,300 yuan from her and did not provide her with a receipt.

Fang Zhiqiang from the Chengguan Police Station had his driver Zhang Wutang take Ms. Qiang to the First Forced Labour Camp in Ping'antai. He, his wife, son and one of his friends drove with them to try to get Ms. Qiang to renounce her beliefs. The car broke down on the way there and had to be repaired. Ms. Qiang tried to run away and jumped down a steep embankment. She was badly injured and was in serious condition. However, Fang Zhiqiang still drove a long way to take her to the forced labour camp. Officials at the camp told them to get Ms. Qiang to the hospital and have her examined. She was taken back to the forced labour camp and the doctor there was shown the x-rays, but he still refused to take her. Ms. Qiang had a broken spine. She was in extreme pain and could not walk. She was taken to a private clinic on Anxi Road in Lanzhou to forcibly give her a transfusion, while Fang Zhiqiang went to the Second Forced Labour Camp in Lanzhou to try and bribe the guards into taking her. However, the doctors could not help and the officials at the labour camp would not accept her. So Fang Zhiqiang had to take Ms. Qiang back to the Zhenyuan Detention Centre.

Ms. Qiang was already on a hunger strike before she was driven to the labour camp. By the time she was finally returned to the detention centre, her condition was very poor. Doctors were called in for treatment. Officials from the Politics and Law Committee, Zhenyuan Public Security Bureau and the Chengguan Detention Centre had a meeting, and Qin Dexi finally agreed to take her if he would be paid 60,000 yuan. However, the officials were afraid that Ms. Qiang might become paralysed, and so in order to avoid responsibility, they decided to release her on bail two days later and monitor her at home. They then notified her family to come and collect her.

Lu Zhengpin did not return Ms. Qiang's savings, and only paid her 500 yuan for living expenses, even though she could not take care of herself at home. Six months later, she had to go back to work to earn an income.

Ms. Qiang was arrested by officers from the Zhenyuan Domestic Security Division in early May 2004, when she was on her way home from work, and was taken to Zhenyuan Public Security Bureau. She was handcuffed to a chair and interrogated until midnight. Zhang Jiatao and his driver, with the last name of Jia, then took her to the Liugouhe Women's Forced Labour Camp in Yuzhong County, Gansu Province. Ms. Qiang was then sent to the Lanzhou Hospital for an examination. The results showed that she had heart problems, and her spine was fractured in two places. Officials at the labour camp refused to accept her. The officers then took her to the Army Hospital for another examination. The results were the same. The officers then paid 3,000 yuan to the officials at the labour camp hospital and left Ms. Qiang there.

When the guards at the labour camp hospital heard that Ms. Qiang was on a hunger strike, two guards tied her down on a hospital bed and force-fed her. She was detained in the hospital ward for 45 days and was constantly monitored. The guards forcibly fed her and injected unknown drugs into her every day.

Zhang Jiatao later had Ms. Qiang transferred to the Yuzhong County Women’s Forced Labour Camp in Lanzhou. They had bribed the head of the education section to imprison her there for two years and nine months.

Brutally persecuted in Yuzhong County Women's Forced Labour Camp

Ms. Qiang was force-fed for 45 days in the labour camp hospital. On June 26th, 2004, she was taken to the Women's Forced Labour Camp in Heping Town. The guards emptied a room and sent six inmates to monitor her 24 hours a day. The police officer in charge was Liu Sheng. The inmates shouted at her and threatened her. Half a month later, Ms. Qiang was sent to the 1st team, and her physical condition was extremely poor. A few months later, guards at the camp tried to force her to attend brainwashing sessions. When the inmates read aloud articles that slandered Dafa, Ms. Qiang started to recite the Fa. The inmates eventually stopped reading.

On one occasion, when the team leader slandered Dafa in the classroom, Ms. Qiang tried to walk out, but the guards and inmates stopped her. She shouted, “Falun Gong is good.” The guards then put her in solitary confinement. Her hands were cuffed behind her back and she was hung from the top frame of the bunk bed, with her toes barely touching the ground. She was left hanging there until noon the next day. The political instructor in charge was Wang Hongjuan. Ms. Qiang was released from solitary confinement seven days later, and was taken back to the brainwashing facility. Team leader Xia Wenying ordered Shan Guilian to monitor her.

Ms. Qiang was taken to the Strictly Controlled Team ten days later, and her term was extended by 49 days. When she was released on February 25th, 2007, her employer deducted over 10,000 yuan from her wages to pay for her expenses while she was detained. She was also deducted six years of service from her records.

Some of the labour that prisoners are forced to do in the labour camp include weaving carpets, folding medicine boxes, grinding gem stones, peeling corn, making hats, decorating shoes, and other work.

Constantly harassed and persecuted by 610 Office agents

Two agents from the Gansu Province 610 Office, two from the regional 610 Office and a few from the Zhenyuan 610 Office went to Ms. Qiang's office on September 16th, 2010 to harass her. Agents from the Gansu Province 610 Office repeatedly slandered Falun Gong. One of the agents from the regional 610 Office was a person with the last name of Si.

On the afternoon of May 4th, 2011, Ms. Qiang was called to the head office of the Agricultural Machinery Bureau by her employer. All the managers of the company were there. The general manager Wang Jinren said that they had orders from high level authorities that required all Falun Gong practitioners to write guarantee statements to promise to give up their belief. If not, the practitioner would be taken to the Lanzhou Brainwashing Centre and would not be released until they wrote the statement. If Ms. Qiang refused to cooperate, she would be sent there and the cost would be 50,000 yuan per year, which would be deducted from Ms. Qiang's wages. They also told her that they would stop paying her wages from the next month. The party secretary Wang Shaohua said that Ms. Qiang had to write a guarantee statement by 6 p.m. that evening. But Wang Jinren then said that they could give her one more day and she had to reply to them by the following afternoon. They also gave her a pre-printed guarantee statement that she only had to sign.

Ms. Qiang refused to sign the letter and left home to avoid further persecution. Agents from the Zhenyuan 610 Office went to her office many times looking for her, and officers from the Chengguan Police Station also asked her employer about her whereabouts many times. Qin Hongyan from the Zhenyuan 610 Office said that the Gansu City 610 Office told him that if Ms. Qiang's employer cannot deal with her, they need to send her to them for persecution.

Agent Jia from the Qingyang 610 Office also actively participated in the persecution of Ms. Qiang.

Contact details of those involved in the persecution:

Qing Hongyan, Zhenyuan County Politics and Law Committee in Gansu Province: 86-9347121325 (Office), 86-15339347583 (Mobile)Wang Jinren, head of the Zhenyuan County Agricultural Machinery Bureau in Qingyang City: 86-13993495593 (Mobile)Wang Shaohua, party secretary of the Zhenyuan County Agricultural Machinery Bureau: 86-13884125708 (Mobile)

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.